AKA Taci
by CDCskitzo-13
Summary: [AU] [RikuXOC] Use whatever means you deem necessary to kill your target. Simple as that. So why was this time so much more difficult?
1. Chapter 1

"A toast to your health, sir," the secretary announced to the city hall packed full of statesmen, councilmen and other dignitaries, "may you continue to live well and to serve our town in peace for many years to come."

Everyone at the tables around the hall chimed in with a chorus of "here-heres" and downed their glasses of wine. No one could have possibly known what was going to happen next. The mayor smiled, raised his glass in acknowledgement, and drank. He finished his glass and set it down with a regal, contented sigh.

There was a loud thump and a few shrieks from the women as the mayor hit the plush Oriental rug, dead as a doornail. The hall erupted into chaos. There were screams and exclamations of shock from every corner of the room. People scrambled every which way. Some were attempting to get to the mayor, but many attempting to get themselves out of the hall as quickly as they could.

People poured out of City Hall in what could only have been described as a stampede. The "common" folk looked up from their works in confusion as the elite ran through the streets with seemingly no more dignity and class than a crazed drunkard.

Obviously, I could not have risked being caught in my endeavor by sticking around City Hall. So, from my vantage point at a tavern across the street, I only knew that my mission had been successful by the sight and sound of the horde of the elite pouring out of the hall and through the streets.

Ants. They were nothing but ants. Content in their ignorance of anything going on around them. Ignoring the obvious in front of them and choosing instead to keep their blinders on as they walk around the obstacle. Now they were panicked. Not as if I had taken some of their buildings – they would just have rebuilt. No, I had killed their queen. I had taken the order of quiet of their lives away from them. And they had no idea what to do now.

Setting down my drink that I had never actually taken so much as a sip from, I let a small, crooked smile pass across my lips. I placed some coins on the table as payment and slipped out of the side door while everyone was distracted by all the commotion. Once in the alley outside of the tavern, I faded into the night. My work here was done.

The next day, all headlines screamed "Mayor Orkman Assassinated: authorities investigate mysterious murder". I had never been much of a news freak, but it was quite entertaining to read a story about my escapades every once in a while. I liked to see how the papers wrote about me – call me vain; I called it curiosity. All of their possible reasons for the murder of the mayor amused me to no end: "…extreme political rivalry…", "He owed people money…", "…an affair…", etc…

In all reality, I had no idea why I had been commissioned to kill the mayor. And, frankly, I didn't really care much either. This wasn't my town. This wasn't my home. I had no connection to this little picture-perfect town with its supposedly perfect people. As an assassin, I was a nomad. Wandering from town to town, one cheap hotel to another. I had no mailing address, but those who needed me always knew how to find me.

Ambiguity was all a part of the job. You were sent a letter telling you who you were assassinating, what they looked like, where they would be on most days, and so on. You didn't ask questions like why you were killing them, you just chose which way was the best way to do the job, mapped out an escape route, and carried out your plan.

Emotions were the enemy of the assassin. They got in the way of our duties and jeopardized our safety. We were trained to be as cold and unfeeling as humanly possible; sometimes we were even more so than that.

A flick of the wrist. A flick of the wrist or the tap of a heel was all that was needed and a dagger would be there at my disposal.

Knives and daggers were two things I was never at a loss for, there were always or on more hidden about various points on my person (not to mention the poisons that were also used and hidden just as well). As an assassin, this was not only required but also came very much in handy at times.

The job wasn't so difficult. It was not one of the most respected jobs, that is, until after the deed was done. That was when you got your recognition and respect. But, the pay was good so I didn't have too many complaints concerning it.

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**A/N: I have decided to re-write some of this story. It has pretty much stayed the same, some more pieces have been/are being added and other parts are being shuffled around a little. Hence, Chapter One is now longer than it used to be. Hurrah!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Just as promised." Read the note tied to the small black suitcase that lay on the doorstep to my current undersized apartment. I hesitantly tapped the valise with the toe of my black leather boots, testing it for any traps or motion-triggered weapons.

The key to surviving life with minimal injury, particularly as an assassin, was being untrusting of anything you are not absolutely, positively sure about being safe. Nothing is ever what it seems, which is something that I've always kept in mind. All these instructions are drilled into our memories while we are trained for our missions. They are what keep us alive.

After I was sure the suitcase was harmless, I picked it up and carried it into the main room of my apartment. Unclipping the snaps, I meticulously counted out the nine grand I had been promised as my pay for this particular assignment. As with everything else that we don't trust, we do not always trust whether or not we have been paid what has been promised. When dealing with the kinds of unsavory characters that I, and other assassins, often do, it literally pays to double check.

I didn't particularly get great joy out of the assassination of many important authority figures. However, I did get an odd enjoyment from the various ways that one could be killed. Killing was an art. A strange art. But an art none the less. And, it paid the bills. And in this world, one needed money in order to survive, and this was all I could get while still keeping my dignity by not becoming a "Lady of the Night", their proper name for prostitutes.

There was a knock at the door. Instantly, a knife appeared the palm of my left hand, prepared for anything that could be imagined. I cautiously opened the door and let another knife slide into the palm of my right hand.

There stood a figure dressed in a long, black, hooded trench coat with what appeared to be longish silvery hair. If that wasn't sketchy or suspicious, I didn't know what was. Something hit the ground with a small clang; at once I was at the ready. All of a sudden, the hall began to spin and I became lightheaded and abruptly weary. I could feel myself falling, but could not do anything about it; something caught me before I was able to hit the hard, concrete floor.

As I began to regain my consciousness, I winced at the painful headache that I found I had. Groaning as I tried to sit up, I found I was clothed in nothing but my undergarments and a white cotton shift. Pushing my hair out of my eyes, I set one bare foot onto the cold, hard tile of my prison. At least that was what I concluded it to be, being as it had no windows and a heavy door in one of the walls.

After a while of trying to devise a plan of escape, I heard footsteps and the bolt in the door slid into the open position and a man dressed exactly like the strange figure who had been at my doorstep appeared in the room. I stood up and flicked my wrists for a pair of knives. There was none. It was then I realized that I had been stripped of all of my weapons while I was knocked out.

"Welcome to my humble abode." The man said with false hospitality and a smile that was even more fake.

I huffed at his greeting, an obvious look of distrust and distaste appearing on my face. He gave a small smile at the reaction from me. Slightly confused, but trying my best not to show it, I sat back down on the cot I had woken up on. He slowly strode over to where I was sitting.

"So, who are you?" He asked in an awkward attempt at friendly conversation.

"I could ask the same of you. But shouldn't you already know who I am? Being as you kidnapped me. Not to mention all of the other questions: why am I here? Why did you kidnap me? Where are all of my clothes?" I snapped.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Retract the fangs." He said, "I can't really reveal any information about anything right now. Maybe some other time. I'm just trying to get to know you."

This didn't process well, "Yeah? Why? Planning on using my knowledge against me? How're you going to get it out? Torture? Trained professional?" I shot back.

He sighed and continued to shorten the distance between him and the cot. Half-baked plans and useless ideas ran through my mind as I continued my attempt at figuring out how to get out of wherever I was.

When he had gotten as close as I decided I was going to let him, I jumped off the other side of the cot. I took up a defensive position: legs shoulder width apart, one foot a little ahead of the other, hands at the ready. The man stood on one side and I on the other, nothing but the cot separating us. I glared coldly at him, attempting to calculate his strengths and where he would be weak and vulnerable. It was quite difficult as he was still wearing the long black cloak that I had first met him in.

"What's the use of that? You don't have any weapons," he scoffed.

"Do you really think I need any sort of material weapon to fight you? You obviously don't know very much about me, then. I am a weapon." I spat back with vehemence.

He took a step to the right trying to come nearer to my side of the cot. Taking my small chance opening, I shot towards the door that he had neglected to close when he entered the room. The white shift I was wearing caught on the corner of the cot and I fell to the floor, however, and I accomplished nothing but bruising my knees.

_Damn dresses_. I thought to myself. _This was exactly why I never wore the cursed things. All they ever do is just get in the way and make it difficult to move quickly and effectively._ I longed for the comfort and mobility of my slacks and boots. Gathering the skirt of the shift around me, I rolled over from where I had landed and sat up.

The man came over to where I was sitting and offered his hand to help me up. Indignantly, I pushed it away and picked myself up with a scowl. Already, my knees were beginning to turn a lovely purple-ish color.

"Are you alright?" He inquired, unsuccessfully trying to hide a smile at my clumsiness. "That was quite a spill."

"I'm fine," I said through gritted teeth. I wasn't sure what I was more angry at – being kidnapped by this strange man, botching my escape, or completely botching my escape by tripping over my own feet – so, I settled on being mad at everything.

"Alright, I believe you. But really, what's with all the venom? You don't even know me and you already seem to hate me. What's that about? You must hate other people, not just me, otherwise why else would you be a hired assassin." He answered back. I just stood there glaring at him.

So fast that he could not have had time to deflect it, I was up and had slapped him across the face. Not necessarily because he had called me a hired assassin, that was actually pretty true, it was more because I had been wanting and waiting to do that for the whole time since I had 'met' him. It was a small pleasure in this boring and unfamiliar place. And because I didn't know where it was or why I was even here, I gladly took that small pleasure.

Taking advantage of his temporary shock at my slapping him, I once again ran towards the open door. I made sure I had the skirts of the shift held in my hands to prevent any more catching and tripping. I was glad that my unfortunate slip-and-fall hadn't done any more damage than a slight bruising.

Slamming the heavy door shut as I ran through it, I took off down the first hall I came to. Probably not one of my better ideas, particularly because I had no idea where I was or where I could possibly be headed a very good idea, but I was going to try to make it work somehow.

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**A/N: I've brought a couple of the old chapters together to make longer chapters. On this one, I've also added a little more description and some more internal dialogue. I hope you enjoy it.**


	3. Chapter 3

-[POV change]-

_Why do they always run away? Did they think they even had a chance of escaping from me?_ I thought to myself amusedly. After a second of thought, I placed my hand on my cheek where the girl had slapped me. It stung. She was a lot stronger than she looked. _Pretty cute too_. I chuckled to myself for a moment. _I'll give her a head start._

_She won't be able to get very far, anyway, she doesn't know this part of the city_. Well, at least I hoped she didn't. That would have been just my luck. I take someone – someone extremely important – captive and she escapes into the city. A city that I've been in for only about two months and she ends up knowing the city better than I do. Then, she manages to elude me every time I get close and ultimately I lose.

This capture was my one chance to prove myself to my superiors. To prove that I was not the pathetic failure that they believed I was. I had this awful feeling that she _would_ be the one to do that too. To ruin everything that I had been trying to work towards. Though it may not have been her initial intention, just a plus. Maybe I was just overanalyzing all of this...nah. Couldn't be. No, her only intentions had been getting away from me and keeping herself alive.

_Ow! She sure does hit hard_. I thought to myself, gingerly touching my cheek again. Not that that really should have been any surprise to me. As an assassin myself, I knew how much training we went through to not only be smarter, stealthier and more cunning than our 'prey', but also to be stronger than them. It was no different for any of the female assassins, they may have looked fragile and dainty, but they could kill you in an instant. _Haha. Play on words. I kill myself. Oops, there I go again._

After just standing there for a good five to ten more minutes, I finally decided to go after her. Something I probably should have done right as she was running away, if I was going completely "by the book", but I was too busy trying to regain feeling in my face. Plus, like a cat with its mouse, the game was more fun when the prey believed it was free.

I didn't understand why we assassins even had a "book" or rules. What you should and shouldn't do as an assassin had always seemed pretty common sensical and self-explanatory to me. You should do your job quickly and quietly. You should be stealthy. You should always be wary. You should never get caught. You should keep yourself alive. But, I guess somehow something had happened that warranted these concepts to be written down. So, I shrugged it off.

Sprinting out of the room into one hall and then down another hall, I took some time to get the cages all unlocked and undone so that the dogs could have a bit of their own fun on the chase. I didn't mean for them to actually bring her down and kill her on the spot, of course, I needed her alive. They were just to make the tracking easier for me and perhaps try to bring her down by, maybe, nipping at her ankles or something.

"Hey!" I hissed, waving one of her gloves in front of their sensitive noses, "Come on boys, you know who to look for!" They clambered over each other in their frantic excitement, each trying to get a better scent to know better what they needed to find.

With about ten cries of pure ecstasy, the hounds took off howling out of their secret doors into the streets as I jumped onto my motorbike to continue the chase after them. I had no fear of losing sight of any of the dogs; they each had tracking devices embedded into their collars. I was more fearful that they would take down an innocent citizen in their mad chase.

-[POV change]-

Out in the dark alleys of the city, I felt more comfortable. There was very little light to expose me – just the way I liked it. Though I would have sworn that I had never been in this city before, it felt eerily familiar somehow. I had no time to ponder that, however, being as I was in the middle of trying to run away from the man who had managed to take me captive. The feeling that I had seen this place before stayed in the back of my mind.

Bringing myself back to the task at hand, I walked cautiously out of the alley. The night air was cold and brisk, making me feel alive. Unconsciously I closed my eyes and took a breath, breathing in that elixir of life. I heard the shuffling of feet and my eyes snapped back open, the moment gone.

"Hello citizen," I piped up to the passerby that was looking at me oddly. It was then that I remembered that I was still wearing nothing but light shift that I had woken up in back inside the building. I gave a blush and shivered slightly.

"Good evening, Miss." He answered. "May I ask as to what your purpose is for being out at such an hour? The streets are no place for a _proper_ lady."

He then gave me an even more peculiar look. I wasn't really what anyone would call a 'proper lady', though I was quite good at putting on that facade. But, I most definitely was not a girl to be set up on the street corner as a decoration or anything – like he seemed to insinuate that I was.

For the reference of the uncultured, to be placed 'on the street corner as a decoration' can be translated to being nothing more than a prostitute. A cheap one at that. All of the ones with a bit more 'class' took up residence in one of the several brothels in each city.

"I seem to be lost, my good sir. You wouldn't happen to know where I would be able to find some decent lodgings, would you?" I inquired of him in my best impersonation of a lady, forcing the blush deeper and increasing the frequency of the shivers. "Oh yes, and a place to find some proper clothes, my bags seem to have gotten stolen."

I batted my eyelashes a few more times than necessary and gave him my saddest puppy face possible, to give my performance a little extra 'oomph', as he stood there vacillating in his decision. I could tell that all of my acting had worked by the fact that he was still standing in front of me trying to figure out what would be best to do with me.

"Alright. I'll help you, miss," he finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity – I really was starting to feel the coldness of the late autumn air. " Here, take my coat, it's positively frigid out here."

I took his coat from his outstretched hand and draped it gracefully around my cold frame, naturally and exquisitely feigning the act of being a perfect lady. "Thank you, my dear sir. Now, I guess we should start on our way then?"

Gentlemanly, he offered me his arm, which I, properly, took. With my other hand, I slid the dagger I had "found" in the alley out of the leather strapped to my thigh. A sly little smile crawled across my lips.

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**A/N: Uh-oh...what's she going to do...well, ok, it probably doesn't take much thought to figure out what's going to happen...well, there is still much more to happen in this story. I hope that you all enjoy.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: New Chapter! Everyone loves a new chapter, yes? Yes! Well, at least I hope you'll like this one. It's a little longer than some of the other ones, and hopefully/maybe all the chapters to come will be just as long, if not longer! Right, hope you enjoy.**

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-[POV change]-

We charged out of the back of the building, the rubber of the motorbike's tires sliding along the ground and the hounds' claws clicking along the ground made for an interesting soundtrack to our mission. The autumn air chilled to the bone. The night air hitting my skin was exhilarating. Almost as exhilarating as the thrill of the chase. Both the thrill chase and the cold night air always had the strange power to make me feel so much more alive. There was no time, however, to stop and savor the moment. So I, once again, put my mind back on the task at hand – finding that damn girl.

My mind went back to my room where she had so quickly and easily bested me with nothing more than a simple slap. I know I should have been angry at her and at myself for allowing her to do such a thing, but I was more amused than I was angry. She was feisty. Full of fight and life and spirit. Plus, she was cute when she was feisty. If she had not been a trained assassin, and if she had not been my quarry, I would have been trying to date her.

I laughed to myself. _Haha, you've never dated anyone. No girl has ever given you a second glance._ And, sad as it was, it was true. Girls had never really liked me. I was not ugly, I knew that. I was just seemingly too dangerous for them. So, they had always gone for more "normal" guys. The ones who wore top hats and pocket watches and had the respectable jobs as bank tellers and councilmen. Not the men like me, killers for hire.

And I knew for a fact that **she** – that this girl who could prove my worth - would rather kill me than to date me. The scene played out in my head. _Hi there, you know how I drugged you, knocked you out, kidnapped you, and took all your clothes? Yea…sorry about that. Look, I think you're cute. I only did all that stuff because I thought it would make my superiors like me more. So, wanna go out sometime?_ And then she would stab me in the chest. Or, she would just punch me. Both thoughts weren't very pleasant, so, I stopped thinking about them. Why was it starting to get harder to concentrate on my chase?

I turned the corner into the alley as soon as I heard the first hound bay. He was quickly joined by his companions in a frightful chorus that tore through the silence of the night like a knife. There, caught upon a broken, jagged section of gate, was a piece of white linen fabric fluttering in the breeze. It looked as if it had been ripped, or torn, off of some garment. Most likely as the person whom it belonged to was running past it in their haste of trying to get somewhere.

"Or trying to run away from something...or someone." I muttered to myself as I thought the dogs were continuing to sniff about for any other clues concerning my runaway prisoner.

But the dogs were not sniffing, or even looking, at the fabric remnant. They were, instead, sniffing around a pile of rubbish containing discarded boxes, an assortment of trash and the like. Curious, I cautiously stepped over to investigate. There was a pool of dark liquid at the base of one pile of garbage. I kicked a few boxes aside and there before me, lay the body of a man. From the looks of it, he could not have been much older than myself. He was wealthier than I was, though, I could tell by the expensive silk suit he was wearing.

Investigating the body a little closer, I could see that his head was at an unnatural angle, and I knew that his neck had been broken. But, I could also tell that the broken neck was not what had killed him – it was just a cover-up for the real cause of death. With one gloved hand I rolled the body over onto its stomach. _Just as I suspected_, I mused to myself, somewhat amusedly considering the circumstance. There, on the left side of his back and in-between the ribs, was a deep gash still oozing blood. I couldn't hide the smirk that crawled across my face.

"So she's gotten herself directions for the city now," I muttered to myself again.

I could not help but be at least a little impressed with her skill. To be able to get all the information she had needed seemingly so quickly and easily, was one thing. But, to also have been able to do all that and to have taken care of him just as efficiently without raising any sort of alarm within the city was quite a feat. Her reputation had certainly not lied about her stealth and skill. _We have quite the job ahead of us_. I thought to myself as I called the dogs back to me. _This is going to be fun._

I turned away from the body and walked back to the broken fence at the beginning of the alleyway. Tearing the ragged piece of fabric off of the black iron, I noticed that it was the same material as the night shift that I had given to the girl. I let it drop to the ground in the center of the mass of hounds, who excitedly sniffed and pawed at it.

I allowed the dogs a good bit of time with it so that they would be able to clearly pick out her scent from the multitude of others in the crowded city streets. When they seemed ready, I picked up the linen and placed it in my front coat pocket in case the dogs needed it again during their search. Hopping back onto my motorbike, I gave the command to the hounds as I kick-started the ignition.

And once again, they were off in their mad dash through the city streets. By this time, the sun had already been up long enough for the local stores to be open. So the hounds and I had to be even more careful as to not start too much of a ruckus. _Haha, _I chuckled to myself,_ trying not to start a ruckus with these dogs would be like trying to find rain on a cloudless day_. So, against my own wishes, I decided it would be best to call the dogs back and continue this chase on my own. But, the dogs apparently had their own idea and would not listen to me as I tried to call them back to me. So, I just went on after them.

-[POV change]-

The gentleman who had offered me his coat had led me to a small boutique-like store. Next to the shoppe was a dark, narrow alley. _Perfect_. I thought to myself. In front of the alley, I stopped and moved slightly closer to the man and palmed the knife that I had been carrying. He noticed nothing out of the ordinary until I had the tip of the knife in his back. He stiffened immediately, but did not try to run away or scream out. I dragged him into the alley and forced him against the back fence. I could hear the dogs and, even though they were a long way off, I knew that it was me they were after.

He stayed silent as I bent down to him, but I could see the fear in his eyes and could tell that he knew what was in store for him. But there was also something else in his eyes, something I had never seen before: acceptance. It made me pause for a moment, but soon enough I had regained myself. I grabbed the collar of his shirt with one hand and demanded that he tell me everything he knew about the city and how to get around without looking out of place.

Not being able to fit in was worse an enemy to the assassin than the authorities and I couldn't risk looking out of place. _Especially not with that man and his hounds coming after me…I would get caught for sure._ I had already been caught by this man once, and I refused to allow him to do such a thing again. I was still angry at the fact that he had even had the audacity to have kidnapped me once.

_No,_ I pondered to myself, _it wasn't that he had had the gall to abduct me…it was that he had actually succeeded in doing so. That I had let him take me. I had failed._ I shook my head. _No, I had not failed yet._ I snapped out of my mind and put my focus back on my prisoner.

I was somewhat surprised when he did not try to cry out or to beg for his life, I was again reminded of the acceptance that had been in his eyes. Instead, he answered me all of my questions telling me that if I went in to the boutique next door when it opened they would show me the latest styles. I made a mental map of his directions around the city. When I had learned enough to get by fairly well, I let go of his collar and made a quick little movement with my hand, the blow landing on his neck and rendering him unconscious. He fell forward exposing his back to me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as my blade sliced into the delicate flesh of his back. And, the funny thing was, was that I actually meant it. I didn't know what was beginning to come over me, but I really was sorry to have had to do what I did.

His body spasmed for a moment as the knife cut through nerves and lungs before hitting the heart. There was a gurgling sound as his last breath left him. I leaned him back against the wall. In a pathetic attempt to disguise his manner of death, I took his head between my hands, made a sharp turning motion with my hands and arms, and broke his neck. No, it was less about trying to cover up my murder as it was something to make him look more dead. With him leaning against the wall, with the stab wound only on his back, he looked as if he had just drank too much and passed out in an alley. And that had bothered me more than it should have. _What keeps coming over me? This is not how you were trained. _The memory of my first mission came back to me.

_I smiled as I brought my blade down onto his head, the councilman fell to the ground in pain. It was a slight smile, not yet crooked nor twisted. The chase had proven to be just as exhilarating as I had been told it would be. I was proud of myself. This was my first mission and I had not backed down. He lay there bleeding from his head wound, pleading with me that he had done nothing wrong._

_"You have to believe me!" he begged. "I've only ever done my duty to the city!"_

_"Then how do you explain this?" I kicked his bag that he had been carrying and out spilled rubies and jewels and silver coins._

_He scrambled to his knees, despite the blood dripping from his skull, trying to gather up his treasure but I kicked him square in the middle of his back, bringing him down once again. Lifting my swords up above my head, I took one last kick at him, turning him over onto his back and brought the swords down in a scissor manner, cleanly beheading him. His head rolled for a little bit, before coming to a stop in the gutter._

_A new little hint of a smile crept across my face, a crooked little smile that barely moved the lips. The first of many crooked, twisted, little smiles._

I knew I had not been smiling like that this time. Going through his coat, I found his pocketbook. That was good. I was most definitely going to need money, especially since all of my money had been lost when my clothes were taken. _He probably took the money in the valise as well_, I complained to myself, still fuming at the mysterious man who had brought me to this place. There was still a little more time before the shoppes would open, so, I took the time to bury the gentleman carefully under a pile of discarded boxes and rubbish.

_Funny thing about trash_, I smiled to myself, _is that no matter how carefully you arrange it, it still looks like it was just thrown out haphazardly._ I tossed the last box on top of the pile and began to walk out of the alleyway, catching and ripping the sleeve of my shift on a broken fence piece in my haste to continue my flight.

By now the shoppes would be open, and so, with the sound of the man's motorbike and his hounds steadily coming closer, I stepped out of the alley into the light of the morning. The sign in the window said the boutique was open for business, and, with a determined sigh, I marched up the stairs and through the door.

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**A/N: I am currently working on the next chapter...hopefully it will be up soon. Also, hopefully, I will continue to have good inspiration for this story so that I can continue it as I have hoped.**


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